Avoidable workplace accidents claim 22 lives in North West

Britain's workplace safety regulator today warned businesses in the North West of the continued need to put safety first as new figures reveal the number of employees killed at work.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today published provisional figures showing that there were 22 fatal injuries reported in the region in 2008/09 – the same total as the previous year.

Over the past five years there have been, on average, 33 deaths a year as a result of workplace accidents in the North West.

Overall, the number of people killed at work in Britain has fallen to a record low with 180 workers killed in 2008/09 – down 17% on the previous lowest total of 217, which was recorded in 2005/6.

The North West's top health and safety official, HSE Regional Director David Sowerby, said many of the deaths could have been prevented by simple and sensible precautions.

“The fact that 22 people failed to come home from work in the North West last year because of avoidable safety failings is a terrible tragedy," he said.

“There are families throughout the region who have been cruelly robbed of a loved one in incidents that in many cases were entirely preventable. We owe it to them and to the workers who have lost their lives to continue to put safety first.

“This is all the more important given the economic problems facing the North West. We know from evidence of past downturns that when the period of economic recovery comes it generally sees an increase in the rate and number of workers losing their lives.

“I don't want to be talking in 12 months time about a tragic rise in the number of workers who have been killed simply doing their job.”

The provisional figure for the number of workers fatally injured across Great Britain in 2008/09 is 180 − the lowest level of workplace fatalities on record. This corresponds to a fatal injury rate of 0.6 per 100,000 workers − a fall of 25% on the previous year.